Old Fashioned Tea Cakes

This is another of my mother’s (Ruthlace) recipes. She got it from her mother. And maybe her mother got it from her mother. My earliest memories include making these cookies at Christmas. We’d cut out wreaths, Christmas trees and stars, and then we’d decorate them with frosting and sprinkles. However, they taste best, in my opinion, warm from the oven - with no frosting- and with a glass of cold milk. What I like most about them is that they’re not overly sweet. Here’s the recipe:

Old Fashioned Tea Cakes

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups self-rising flour

Mix all ingredients together well. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough. Roll out thin and cut with cookie cutters. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until lightly browned - about 5-6 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies (flourless)

After a reader asked about recipes for people with allergies, I started looking through my cookbooks to see what I could find. Here is a flourless peanut butter cookies that should fit the bill:

Peanut Butter Cookies (flourless)

1 c. peanut butter, plain or chunky (I prefer chunky)
1 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients and mix well. Roll mixture into small balls and place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Press each cookie lightly with a fork - forming a criss-cross design. Bake for 10 minutes. Cookies break easily when first removed from the oven and still hot. So let them stand for a few minutes to cool before taking off the cookie sheet. Enjoy!